Side 1
UNIVERSITY OF OSLO
Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences
Exam in
MBV4150
Day of exam:
24 May 2013
Exam hours:
0900 - 1200
This examination paper consists of 2 pages.
Appendices:
Hosokawa et al (2010) and supplementary figures
Permitted materials:
None
Make sure that your copy of this examination paper
is complete before answering.
English
The PNAS paper by Hosokawa et al (2010) details a unique symbiotic relationship
between the common bedbug and an intracellular bacterium within the genus
Wolbachia.
1) What do you see to be the most important findings of this work (in your own words
- please)?
2) What other types of symbiotic systems presented in the course most strongly
resemble that demonstrated in this work? How are they similar? How are they
different?
3) Can you identify any weaknesses / flaws in technique, data or logic in the work? If
so, what are they?
4) What do you perceive to be the major biological and functional significance of the
symbiosis? What does each partner gain from the interaction? Explain the logic
behind your answer.
5) What is the logic behind using the ftsZ gene sequences for molecular phylogenetic
analyses?
6) A second proteobacterial endosymbiont is found in all but the JESC lines of C.
lectularis (Table S1). What might account for this discrepancy? What role(s) might
the second endosymbiont play in the ecology of the insect-bacterium endosymbiosis?
How could you test your theories?
6) You suddenly get lucky and are funded to sequence the genome of the C. lectularis
Wolbachia endosymbiont. Based on your current knowledge, what general features do
you expect to find for the Wolbachia endosymbiont genome when you analyze the
data? How might its genome content and organization compare to those of other
Wolbachia species? How might its genome content and organization compare to those
of bacterial symbionts of blood feeding insects?